Question 1

The hormone that appears to play a key role in adjusting our biological clocks is

Accepted Answer

Melatonin is a hormone that is released by the pineal gland in response to darkness and helps to regulate the sleep/wake cycle. It has been shown to be an important factor in adjusting our biological clocks and is often used to help treat sleep disorders.

Question 2

Research has shown that people who work on a rotating shift schedule are ____ to have accidents and be ____ productive than people who do not work on a rotating shift schedule.

Accepted Answer

Research has consistently shown that people who work on a rotating shift schedule are more apt to have accidents (due to sleep deprivation and disrupted circadian rhythms) and be less productive (due to fatigue and reduced cognitive functioning) than people who do not work on a rotating shift schedule.

Question 3

Peter is in a deep sleep and his brain wave pattern consists of low frequency delta waves.Peter is experiencing which stage of sleep?

Accepted Answer

Low frequency delta waves indicate deep sleep, which is typically associated with Stage 3 or 4 sleep. REM sleep is characterized by high frequency beta waves, and Stages 1 and 2 involve lighter sleep with different patterns of brain wave activity.

Question 4

Which of the following glands is responsible for secreting the hormone involved in adjustments to our biological clocks?

Accepted Answer

The pineal gland is responsible for secreting the hormone melatonin, which is involved in regulating our sleep-wake cycles and other biological rhythms.

Question 5

Sleep Stages 3 and 4 are referred to as

Accepted Answer

Sleep Stages 3 and 4 are referred to as slow-wave sleep because they are characterized by high amplitude, low frequency delta waves on an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Question 6

Ryan is hooked up to an electroencephalograph (EEG) in a sleep lab.As the researcher watches the printout from the EEG, sleep spindles begin to appear.Based on this information, the researcher can conclude that Ryan

Accepted Answer

Sleep spindles are characteristic brain wave patterns that occur during Stage 2 sleep, indicating that Ryan has just entered this stage. REM sleep is characterized by rapid eye movements and a different pattern of brain waves, and is not typically associated with sleep spindles. Stages 1 and 3-4 also do not typically have sleep spindles. Therefore, option B is the best choice.

Question 7

An electroencephalograph (EEG) is recording Joseph's brain activity, and the recording is currently dominated by delta waves.Unexpectedly, there is a loud crash in the sleep lab.It is likely

Accepted Answer

The answer of An electroencephalograph (EEG) is recording Joseph's brain...

Question 8

Kayla's core body temperature has risen 1.5 degrees in the last half hour.This change in body temperature means that it is most likely that Kayla

Accepted Answer

A rise in core body temperature is a sign that the body is waking up, not falling asleep or meditating. Additionally, a change of 1.5 degrees is significant enough to indicate a change in wakefulness within the next hour, making option B unlikely. Therefore, the most likely choice is that Kayla has just woken up.

Question 9

When the first astronauts travel to Mars, they will be travelling for long periods of time with no external time cues.You would predict that the circadian rhythms for these astronauts would

Accepted Answer

Without external time cues, the body's internal clock tends to drift slightly longer than 24 hours, resulting in a disruption of circadian rhythms. This is known as circadian desynchronization.

Question 10

Alexander is hooked up to an electroencephalograph (EEG) in a sleep lab.As the researcher watches the printout from the EEG, theta waves appear.Based on this information, the researcher can conclude that Alexander

Accepted Answer

The answer of Alexander is hooked up to an electroencephalograph...

Question 11

As a person falls into deeper sleep, his pattern of brain wave activity becomes both ____ in frequency and ____ in amplitude.

Accepted Answer

The answer of As a person falls into deeper sleep,...

Question 12

Mary is a "night person" and Gary is a "morning person." This difference is probably due to differences in their

Accepted Answer

Circadian rhythms are the internal biological processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle in humans. Mary and Gary's different preferences for waking and sleeping likely reflect differences in their circadian rhythms. REM sleep patterns (A) vary throughout the night and in response to sleep deprivation, but are not likely to be the primary cause of their differing sleep preferences. Cytoplasm (B) refers to the material within a cell, and is not related to sleep patterns. Use of alcohol (D) can disrupt sleep, but is not necessarily related to whether someone is a "night person" or "morning person."

Question 13

Stage 1 sleep is represented by EEG brain-wave patterns referred to as

Accepted Answer

Theta waves are characteristic of stage 1 sleep. Alpha waves are seen during wakefulness and relaxation, while REM (rapid eye movement) waves are associated with the stage of sleep where dreaming occurs. Zeta waves are not a recognized type of EEG brain-wave pattern.

Question 14

Sleep spindles, which appear against a background of mixed, mostly lower frequency EEG activity, are characteristic of

Accepted Answer

Sleep spindles are a defining characteristic of Stage 2 sleep.

Question 15

What appears to be responsible for regulating the circadian rhythm?

Accepted Answer

The exposure to light, particularly natural light, appears to be the strongest factor that regulates the circadian rhythm. Light cues received by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the brain help to synchronize the body's internal clock with the external environment.

Question 16

Victoria is listening to a lecture in a hot lecture hall, late on a Friday afternoon.She starts to feel drowsy, and then falls into a light sleep.If her brain wave patterns were being monitored, they would show a shift from

Accepted Answer

When a person is awake, their brainwaves are typically in the beta wave frequency range. As Victoria starts to feel drowsy, her brainwaves would shift from beta waves to alpha waves, which are associated with relaxed wakefulness. As she falls into a light sleep, her brainwaves would further shift to theta waves, which are characteristic of early stages of sleep. Thus, the correct sequence of shifts in brainwave patterns would be from beta waves to alpha waves and finally to theta waves, as described in choice C.

Question 17

Rebecca is hooked up to an electroencephalograph (EEG) in a sleep lab.As the researcher watches the printout from the EEG, delta waves appear.Based on this information, the researcher can conclude that Rebecca

Accepted Answer

Delta waves are associated with deep sleep, specifically Stage 3 sleep. Therefore, the researcher can conclude that Rebecca has just entered Stage 3 sleep.

Question 18

Some researchers have suggested that our 24-hour sleep/wake cycle may partially be a response to a world where the sun rises and sets on a 24-hour cycle.Imagine that the earth is gradually slowing down, and in 10 000 years the sun rises and sets on a 26-hour cycle instead.If you came to this future world you might expect that people would tend to

Accepted Answer

Our sleep/wake cycle is partially influenced by the 24-hour cycle of the sun. If the sun rises and sets on a 26-hour cycle, it is likely that our sleep/wake cycle would also adjust to match this cycle, resulting in people falling asleep once every 26 hours. A shorter sleep/wake cycle (choice C) would not align with the longer day and night cycle, and it is unlikely that people would continue to follow the old cycle (choice A) given that the environmental cues have changed. Therefore, the best choice is D.

Question 19

Which of the following appears to be the sequence of events associated with resetting one's biological clock?

Accepted Answer

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (located in the hypothalamus) signals the pineal gland to secrete the hormone melatonin, which helps reset the biological clock. Option A is incorrect because the thalamus does not directly send signals to the medial forebrain bundle for resetting the biological clock. Option B is incorrect because there is no hormone called philoxin that is released by the optic chiasm, and the renal gland is not involved in resetting the biological clock. Option D is incorrect because the superior colliculus is involved in visual processing and is not directly involved in resetting the biological clock.

Question 20

In general, research into circadian rhythms has found that overall level of alertness and body temperature are

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that overall level of alertness and body temperature are positively correlated. As body temperature rises, so does overall alertness and vice versa.

Quiz 5: States of Consciousness